Ballets Russes

The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company based in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout  Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never  performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. After its initial Paris season, the company had no formal ties there.

Originally conceived by impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes is widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century,  in part because it promoted ground-breaking artistic collaborations  among young choreographers, composers, designers, and dancers, all at the forefront of their several fields. Diaghilev commissioned works from  composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, and Sergei Prokofiev, artists such as Vasily Kandinsky, Alexandre Benois, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, and costume designers Léon Bakst and Coco Chanel. 

The company’s productions created a huge sensation, completely  reinvigorating the art of performing dance, bringing many visual artists  to public attention, and significantly affecting the course of musical  composition. It also introduced European and American audiences to  tales, music, and design motifs drawn from Russian folklore. The influence of the Ballets Russes lasts to the present day.